Did i make a mistake??????

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I purchased a THUNDER .380; Went to fire it and it jammed just about every 2 to 4 rounds. With the mag. full it jammed every time. After clearing it 1 or 2 times it fired 3 to 4 rounds ok. Reload and here we go again. When it jammed, you could look in the almost closed chamber and see the round in there crooked. You really had to pull pretty hard to get the slide to go back to get the round out. It also left a mark on the side of the unfired round about 1/8 inch back on the jacket. I tried to get a box through it and after about 40 rounds I got frustrated and nervous. I also tried it with another mag. and nothing changed. It also fail to fire. (firing pin mark on unfired cartridge) Was not real sure at this point it would not blow up in my face. Dealer says this happens to all brands from time to time. He is going to send it back to the factory. Is this normal or a isolated problem? I thought they fired these guns enough to not let them out of the factory with this kind of problems. Is BERSA capable of fixing this gun correctly? ANY HELP WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED. THANKS

- Did you clean and lube the gun according to the manufacturers recomendations before you shot it?

- Did you try more than 1 type of ammo before you gave the gun back?

- What kind of ammo were you using?

If it wasn't cleaned and lubed before you shot it, that could be the reason for your malfunctions. The other thing that sounds odd is that you said the primers on rounds that didn't fire had a good skrike mark from the firing pin. That would lead me to believe the ammo you were using wasn't so good.

It sounds like the shop is willing to help you out a bit by sending it back for you. I would stay positive until you have reason to worry. I'm sure the factory is going to give your gun a pretty good going-over and will test fire it before they send it back.

Bersa guns are really tight when they are new. I had one and I ended up leaving the slide locked back for about a week. After that I broke it down and cleaned and got all that weak oil that they are shipped with and lubed with my normal gun lube. I also found that at least with mine it did not like anything but ball ammo and it seemed to like it to be a little hot. I had a box of east European ammo that it worked perfect with. While other brands would cause stovepipes.

- Did you clean and lube the gun according to the manufacturers recomendations before you shot it?

- Did you try more than 1 type of ammo before you gave the gun back?

- What kind of ammo were you using?

If it wasn't cleaned and lubed before you shot it, that could be the reason for your malfunctions. The other thing that sounds odd is that you said the primers on rounds that didn't fire had a good skrike mark from the firing pin. That would lead me to believe the ammo you were using wasn't so good.

It sounds like the shop is willing to help you out a bit by sending it back for you. I would stay positive until you have reason to worry. I'm sure the factory is going to give your gun a pretty good going-over and will test fire it before they send it back.

Be sure to post back when this gets resolved!

Did I clean and lube?? No it was a brand new gun.
What kind of ammo?? Remington and Hornady.
I have and have fired several guns through the years and I have never seen anything like this. When I get it back I will let you all know what happened. THANKS

That is the problem, most likely. Brand new guns come coated in a preservative that needs to be removed before you fire it. Even though it's new, you need to field strip the gun and get that junk off of it or else it can cause feeding and firing issues.

Did I clean and lube?? No it was a brand new gun.
What kind of ammo?? Remington and Hornady.
I have and have fired several guns through the years and I have never seen anything like this. When I get it back I will let you all know what happened. THANKS

Originally Posted by Drew_Rami_P

I think alot of the people who purchase Bersa firearms tend to be new to guns and are attracted to the low price, Many people who are new to guns don't understand how to break them in, clean, and maintain them properly all of which will lead to reliability issues. My wife has a .380cc and she loves it. We would definitly buy Bersa again.

First thing you should do why you buy a new gun is break it down and clean it. They ship in more of a grease than an oil. My guess is that this was probably the cause of your problems.

Thinking out loud

I really thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your feedback on this thread. Anyone else, PLEASE come on in there. I dont know a lot about guns. I am learning thanks to you people.
There is one thing that I cant understand. "Everytime" I put 7 rounds in the mag.: if I shucked it or released the slide the # 1 round did not go all the way in. After clearing # 1 out # 2 may or may not go in as did # 1. iF # 2 went in and fired # 3 might not go in. After clearing # 3 whether it fired # 3 or not # 4 5 6 7 fired as fast as you cold pull the trigger. This leads me to think that perhaps the gun was not in need of cleaning that bad and the ammo was not defective????????? It seems it has a feed problem with a full mag. Why did it not jam # 4 5 6 7 ? It done the same with a Pro Mag mag. i purchased for a spare.
The dealer said 4 to 6 weeks. I will let you all know what happens after I get it back and fire it. JUST THINKING OUT LOUD. AGAIN THANKS.

I really thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your feedback on this thread. Anyone else, PLEASE come on in there. I dont know a lot about guns. I am learning thanks to you people.
There is one thing that I cant understand. "Everytime" I put 7 rounds in the mag.: if I shucked it or released the slide the # 1 round did not go all the way in. After clearing # 1 out # 2 may or may not go in as did # 1. iF # 2 went in and fired # 3 might not go in. After clearing # 3 whether it fired # 3 or not # 4 5 6 7 fired as fast as you cold pull the trigger. This leads me to think that perhaps the gun was not in need of cleaning that bad and the ammo was not defective????????? It seems it has a feed problem with a full mag. Why did it not jam # 4 5 6 7 ? It done the same with a Pro Mag mag. i purchased for a spare.
The dealer said 4 to 6 weeks. I will let you all know what happens after I get it back and fire it. JUST THINKING OUT LOUD. AGAIN THANKS.

Another thing to check is the feed ramp. I've solved feeding problems on a few new guns simply by polishing the feed ramp with 1200 gritt sand paper, then some McGuires scratch polish. It has made a difference every time.

I purchased a THUNDER .380; Went to fire it and it jammed just about every 2 to 4 rounds. With the mag. full it jammed every time. After clearing it 1 or 2 times it fired 3 to 4 rounds ok. Reload and here we go again. When it jammed, you could look in the almost closed chamber and see the round in there crooked. You really had to pull pretty hard to get the slide to go back to get the round out. It also left a mark on the side of the unfired round about 1/8 inch back on the jacket. I tried to get a box through it and after about 40 rounds I got frustrated and nervous. I also tried it with another mag. and nothing changed. It also fail to fire. (firing pin mark on unfired cartridge) Was not real sure at this point it would not blow up in my face. Dealer says this happens to all brands from time to time. He is going to send it back to the factory. Is this normal or a isolated problem? I thought they fired these guns enough to not let them out of the factory with this kind of problems. Is BERSA capable of fixing this gun correctly? ANY HELP WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED. THANKS

I also have a BT 380 Plus..15 roung mag..was a bit finiky at first but after 200-300 rounds it's now perfect.These guns seem to need a "break in" period before they settle down into normal operation.
My buddy has a Beretta 380 and had similar break in issues.
I have found most brands of ammo fire the same.
It is still the best semiauto for the money..light weight..deadly accurate...Yes,I will buy another Bersa..no problem.

Update on mistake????????

My dealer called Monday morning and said the gun was ok. He said he cleaned it and fired 3 mags through it and it was ok. I picked it up and took it to the range and shot 150 rounds and it jammed about every 12 to 15 rounds. It also didnt fire 3 times. (marks were on primer) When it jamms you can look where the fired round comes out and see the new round stuck in there crooked and the slide is not closed all the way. I took it back to the dealer and it jammed on him after 1 mag full and the 2nd round in the other mag. It also didnt fire once. End of story: I told him to send it to the factory. Im a little afraid of it now. I am just glad I have a good dealer. It comes with a Limited lifetime warranty. The ammo I used that was in every other mag full was; Speer Lawman, Remmington, Magtech, And Ultramax remanufactured. I just bought the latter to try to get some rounds through it. It done as well as the other. A friend shot 300 rounds of the Ultramx through his Bersa with out a glitch. I guess I will wait. He said it would be about 6 weeks.I hope the factory can do something. Thanks to all.

Update on big,big,big mistake

I got the 380 thunder back from the dealer Friday (2-20-09) The gun was repaired by Reynersons Gunsmith Service in Baton Rouge,La. He deburred the slide, Adjust safety, Installed new firing pin, Swage barrel throat to seat on ramp, test fired 14 rounds I dont know if this company is a certified Bersa repair shop or not. I hope not. The gun is worse now than before it was sent off. It is still jamming. It will only fire about every other round. Well guess what. My dealer gave me $250.00 credit on the piece of $--t and I got a Beretta 380 auto. Would any one reading this depend on this gun if the chips were down? It is what I should have done is the beginning. I will never give Bersa a good word as long as I live and will do all I can to stop anyone from buying one. This is what happens when you try to save money and settle for less you get LESS. Thanks to all of you who answered this thread.

The Bersa Thunder .380 is a good handgun. Did you ask someone at the range to shot the weapon to determine the same result you were getting? The jamming and FTF at the same time are probably related. Sounds like you have a limp wristing issue. Hope you have better luck with the Beretta.

I have the Beretta .380 nickel Cheetah and absolutely love it. I have fired about 500 rds. through it right out of the box with no ftf or fte. It's great for concealment and 13+1 ability. Good luck with your's. I like to pay a little more for a lot less aggravation.

Why didn't he send it back to the factory instead of to some half-assed gun smith? And why didn't he give you a refund instead of a credit if his guy couldn't make it right?

I'd be more pissed off at the local shop than I would at Bersa.

Couldn't agree more Kev. I have a .380 Thunder and have had no issues with it at all. I have read that they get some lemons out every now and then, but, everyone I know that has one hasn't had any issues.

The Bersa Thunder .380 is a good handgun. Did you ask someone at the range to shot the weapon to determine the same result you were getting? The jamming and FTF at the same time are probably related. Sounds like you have a limp wristing issue. Hope you have better luck with the Beretta.

Two other people at the range said to take it back to the dealer. Another sais throw it in the trash. THANKS

Why didn't he send it back to the factory instead of to some half-assed gun smith? And why didn't he give you a refund instead of a credit if his guy couldn't make it right?

I'd be more pissed off at the local shop than I would at Bersa.

You are right; He should have sent it to the factory. He gave me full credit on the Beretta 84FS. If he had not done that I would not have bought the Beretta from him, and probally wont buy anything else from him anyway. Want to piss a man off? Throw the truth in his face. He didnt like it when I ask him if he would depend on the Bersa to defend his family. I have never had any respect for a man that would ask a man to do something he would not do. THANKS

I have the Beretta .380 nickel Cheetah and absolutely love it. I have fired about 500 rds. through it right out of the box with no ftf or fte. It's great for concealment and 13+1 ability. Good luck with your's. I like to pay a little more for a lot less aggravation.

I fired 450 rounds through the Beretta 84FS Friday and it didnt hiccup. Sometimes we learn the hard way. I just wanted a less expensive pistol to keep in the truck in case it gets stolen.Thanks